The Opelousas courier., 1887-08-20
WILD BILL.
Incidents in the Career of O
Western "Dead Shot,
Killing Two Soldiers in the Twinkling o
an Eye.

an Eye.
Captain Jack Crawford, tho scout
has been giving a Kansas City Time
reporter some interesting facts abou
"Wild Bill" a noted western character
who was shot dead some years ago. Th
reporter said:
"Wild Bill was a good shot, Wis h
not2"
"With the six-shooter he was simply
wonderful. In my entertainment / give
an illustration of a double shot he made
out at Hays City, Kun, in the earl.
days, when he shot two soldiers, one il
front of him and one directly behine
him, each endeavoring to shoe
him before he could draw hi
gun. He killed one and MORALLY
wounded the other, and the two report!
of his revolver seemed almost as one.
The marvellous feat was the talk of the
courtry for a long time. In fact, when
l cam by there a few days ago one oil
the old residents who witnessed the kill.
ing mentioned it to me and said he
could scarcely believe it even after see.
ing it. Bill never missed his mark. ]
have seen him take a pistol in each
hand and fire with right and left pis-
sol at a can thrown in the air, hitting
it with both bullets. By the way, ]
heard q very funny story told on Bill
some time ago. If you remember, he
married Mrs. Agnes Lake, widow OF
Lake, the circus man. Bill fairly wor-
shipped his wife, but despite his great
love for her she never could induce him
to quit drinking. He would come home
full Of bad whiskey, and n day Mrs.
Hickok said to him:
"tBill, if you don't quit this drink
ing pretty soon you will actually begin
to see monkeys
"sMonkeysP said he. what do you
moan, little one2'
"'Why, you know, when people back
cast drink too much of the kind oil
whiskey they get back there they see
snakes, but this awful stuff out here
makes them see monkeys
'Bill laughed at her and did not give
the matter a second thought, little
dreaming that she had put up a job to
break him of his Incorporate habits.
There was a tame monkey in the town
Cheyenne, I believe it was-and Mrs.
Hickok had induced its owner to loan it
to her for a night. Bill came home that
night comfortably drunk, and after he
had gone to sleep his wife secured the
monkey and chained it to the foot of the
bed. Then turning down The light a
little, she too, retired and awaited re-
suits. Bill woke up in the night burn.
ing with thirst and raised up into a sit
ting posture, intending to get out of
bed and get a drink of water. There,
perched on the footboard was the mon
key, staring him in the face with hide
Gus grimaces. He rubbed his bleared
eyes, looked again, aud a horrible sus-
picion came into his befuddled brain. |
Had his wife told him the truth2 Did
ne really have 'em2 Finally, he sprang
out on the floor, seiz, ID his six-shooter,
which lay on a table near. levelled it at
the grinning creature and said:
Nov, old man, if you are a mon
key you're in a bad fix, if you amt a
monkey I'm in a bal fix At the same
he fired, and the monkey fell
in the agonies of death. His wife,
who had been watching the working
OF her scheme, sprang up in the bed
with a scream, and Bill, turning to her
with a broad smile of the most intense
satisfaction, said;
Little woman, congratulate me for
/ have just had q wonderful escape, ]
amt as drunk as I though / was, an
monkey layin' there on thefoor
that'H never intrude itself into the do
felicity of another happy family
an make a gentleman think he's got the